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Phi Alpha
|motto = Onward and Upward |free_label = Slogan |free = Lovers of Truth |colors = Blue and White |mascot = Sylvester (Sly) the Squirrel |city = Lower Beecher Hall, Jacksonville |state = Illinois |country = United States}} Phi Alpha (ΦΑ) is a men's Literary Society founded in 1845 at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. It conducts Business Meetings, Literary Productions, and other activities in Beecher Hall, the oldest college building in the state of Illinois. Origin "On Thursday evening, September 25, 1845, seven students from Illinois College gathered in a small room on the third floor of the old dormitory and made a momentous and historic decision. In order to unite a group of men whose ideas and principles were similar enough as to desire a common bond of fellowship, a new society was to be organized. Five days later the Immortal Seven drew up and adopted the constitution that proved to be the birth certificate of Phi Alpha Literary Society."Phi Alpha Literary Society, Pledge Manual, Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL, p.8 History Abraham Lincoln Phi Alpha has a notable connection with Abraham Lincoln. In the early years it was customary for the society to sponsor lectures throughout the school year, and the profits were used to expand the society's library. Dr. William Jayne, a founder of the society, was "a neighbor, political and social friend of Abraham Lincoln from 1836 until the latter's death in 1865"Personal Reminiscences of the Martyred President Abraham Lincoln by His Neighbor and Intimate Friend Dr. William Jayne p. 9 and was largely responsible for bringing Lincoln to town. As a result, Lincoln came to Jacksonville, Illinois and delivered a speech entitled "Discoveries and Inventions" on February 11, 1859.Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide William Herndon, Lincoln's law partner and biographer, claimed the lecture was written to raise money after an expensive failed campaign for US Senate against Stephen A. Douglas in 1858.Emerson, Jason (2009), Lincoln the Inventor. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-2898-7 According to one contemporary account the lecture was "received with repeated and hearty bursts of applause", and another added that "the lecturer drew largely from his fund of spicy anecdotes and the lecture proved highly entertaining".The Real Lincoln: A Portrait Despite the apparently high entertainment value of Lincoln's lecture, attendance was low and Phi Alpha couldn't bring in much money selling tickets. Dr. Jayne chronicled what happened next in an address delivered to the Grand Army Hall and Memorial Association on February 12, 1900: "Mr. Lincoln, with a kind smile, said to the president of the society, 'I have not made much money for you to-night.' In reply the president said, 'When we pay for the rent of the hall, music and advertising and your compensation, there will not be much left to buy books with for the library.' 'Well, boys, be hopeful; pay me my railroad fare and 50 cents for my supper at the hotel and we are square.'"Personal Reminiscences of the Martyred President Abraham Lincoln by His Neighbor and Intimate Friend Dr. William Jayne p. 25 Early Debate On May 5, 1881, Phi Alpha's debate victory over the Adelphi Society of Knox College was "one of the earliest of all intercollegiate debates in the country". The subject of the debate was prohibition. This event was celebrated in 1978 on the 150th anniversary of Illinois College with another debate against Knox College. This time the subject was "Resolved: That the Electoral College Should be Abolished."Yeager, Iver (1982), Sesquicentennial Papers, Illinois College. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-1048-7 The Issue of Slavery In its early years, Phi Alpha was built on a broad democracy in the selection of its members. Phi Alpha members debated on both sides of the question of slavery and according to the late president of the college Charles Rammelkamp, "the students who in later years got into trouble with the faculty on issues relating to the slavery question were usually members of Phi Alpha". The students who enrolled at Illinois College from the border states of Kentucky and Missouri usually joined Phi Alpha. During the Civil War, Phi Alpha men numbered 104 for the Union and 12 for the Confederacy.1845-1890. Catalogue of Phi Alpha Society p. 152-154 Members References Category:1845 establishments Category:Literary societies